Migration after disasters caused by natural hazards
Citation: Chumky T, Basu M, Onitsuka K, et al. The current research landscape of disaster-induced migration: A systematic review and bibliometric analysis. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. 2022;74:102931.
Language: Abstract and full text available in EN.
Free to view: No.
Funding sources: Nothing noted.
What is this? In this systematic review, the authors searched for articles about migration related to disasters caused by natural hazards. They restricted their searches to articles with empirical data published in English between 1989 and 2019. The authors included 49 studies.
What was found: Disasters caused by natural hazards led to migration that was primarily voluntary, internal, and temporary. Economic factors were the most common stimulus for migration. Other considerations were social insecurity in the origin, knowing people in the destination, education facilities for children, medical services, conflicts, governance, enforced relocation, changes in land policies, access to services, and damage to assets.
Migration from rural areas to urban areas was the most common pattern of migration, irrespective of type of disaster.
Disasters caused by natural hazards that had a slow onset received less attention. Gradual changes resulted in increased vulnerabilities over time and may lead to patterns of mobility that are less noticeable. There was a lack of gendered approach to migration after disasters caused by natural hazards.
Implications: The authors of the review stated that there were limited data related to migration after disasters caused by natural hazards. Although it was clear that migration was occurring, it was not clear why specific types of migration occurred.
Other considerations: The authors of the review discussed their findings in the context of place of residence.
This summary was prepared by Joly Ghanawi, checked by Sneha Bhadti, and finalized by William Summerskill.